S80: Engine Problems won't go away. What else could there be?

[RM955I]

I’d cut your losses and move on. It can be hard to give up but I have a lesser problem with an “engine system service required” fault that I’ve had a full diagnostic on, a smoke test, replaced the sensor on the intercooler as diagnosed...which didn’t work; replaced the sensor on the inlet which didn’t work, and as mine is just a warning with no loss of power, I’ll live with it as my car is at 200,000 miles and worth nothing despite otherwise running faultlessly and being reliable with good body work and interior.

I guess it’s easy for me to say as I’ve only spent about £250 and a few hours of my own time on it but you can end up throwing parts, money and time chasing elusive fixes.

[venomtail]

I would move on if I knew I had a long way to go, however it constantly feels like the last meters of the marathon. So far it's been an endless chase of fixing a fault just to discover there's another one after that, that prevents the car from running.

Really unlucky I guess to for some 10+ parts to fail all on the same day. I'll do the compressions check and then see form there. A shame, all these new parts and still no result.

[Tatsfield]

Since March when I last posted on this thread, you set about buying a VIDA/DiCE and have not mentioned using it. Surely the logical way to attack this problem is diagnostics first and part replacement afterwards. Seems like a lot of parts have been needlessly replaced without a clear strategy through a diagnosis. What is VIDA now saying? Or did I miss something?

[venomtail]

Since the time you linked me the diagnostics tool I've always been on the verge of buying it, however as the car spends most of the time with mechanics, what would my diagnostics tool do that theirs woudn't. At least that was my thinking.
Funny you mention that because last night I was about to buy the diagnostics tool, but as I'm going to a different mechanic tommorow, thought might as well wait a bit... again.

Maybe in the next hour I might pull the trigger. Don't see myself driving any other brands so will come in handy.

[Simmy]

find out which diagnostic tool they are useing some just rely on cheap code readers which cannot read all the modules this might be why you have bought parts that dont resolve your problem good luck with your new mechanic

[venomtail]

I've tried 4 different OBD readers, each around £100 and none of them work. For some reason most don't work in Europe but do in USA.
The scanners that the various mechanics had ranged from £4000 to £8000. That's not an option, bascially a new car for me.

[Simmy]

good luck with your next car it sound like you need it. its so frustrating when so called experts cant solve a problem even with expensive kit . let us know what you go for next.

[seanc]

I think a compression test might reveal all. If it comes back good then we get vida on it.

[Brucat]

I would strongly recommend the Vida / Dice unit. Speak to a forum member called Cherished5, he tests them & then sells them to forum members, obviously you pay a small premium for his time but it saves a lot of head scratching & to and fro.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by venomtail

Since the time you linked me the diagnostics tool I've always been on the verge of buying it, however as the car spends most of the time with mechanics, what would my diagnostics tool do that theirs woudn't. At least that was my thinking.
Funny you mention that because last night I was about to buy the diagnostics tool, but as I'm going to a different mechanic tommorow, thought might as well wait a bit... again.

Maybe in the next hour I might pull the trigger. Don't see myself driving any other brands so will come in handy.

I do think there's a level of skill involved here. As the saying goes, "diagnostics are only as good as the person using them". So if the person using the expensive scan tools doesn't actually understand how to troubleshoot etc, then all you're doing is paying for someone to plug in an expensive tool, paying for potential repairs & in reality, they don't know what they're doing. Obviously, scan tools reveal codes & offer guidance as to what the issue(s) may be, but fixing & understanding the processes involved, or even other potential culprits that may be causing x code is the skill. One could say, "Well, a Mechanic will know that"... Not necessarily.

There's plenty of Mechanics out there that can change your brake pads & discs, but face them with a complicated diagnostics problem & they won't have a clue. I'm not a mechanic, nor am I an expert. I do know from experience though that good Mechanics that understand diagnostics are hard to come by, so are ones that don't charge through the roof.

If you plan on sticking with the Volvo brand & doing your own DIY work, then VIDA/Dice is certainly worth investment. Even if you don't stick with Volvo, you can still sell the equipment to someone on here for example by posting a thread advertising it. By doing so, you'll recoup the majority of the cost (providing its working & is in decent condition). Of course, having your own equipment means there's a learning curve, but that's the interesting part. Not forgetting that you won't have to be paying garages to plug their scan tools in, as you'll be able to do it yourself if you have your own VIDA/DICE setup. If you don't do much DIY work, then VIDA/DICE probably won't be of much use to you.

I know that this must be really frustrating for you bringing the car to a dealership etc & still not being any further along. I'm not going to paint all dealerships with the same brush because there's some good ones out there, but I think this is a classic example of the point I'm making... Even "mechanics" in some of the dealerships don't know what they're doing! Yes, that's crazy I know, but its true.

You need to bring the car to a place that actually knows what they're doing. My advice would be to find a good independent Volvo garage. Dealerships are expensive in many respects (high labour charges etc), so look for a small independent garage that specialises in Volvo's. Are these "mechanics" that you're bringing the car to experienced in Volvo's, or do they just work on all types of cars? Numerous parts have been changed on your car, which I imagine cost a lot of money. I know you may feel that you're at the latter stages of a marathon, but the question is, how far is there to go? You could be talking a few hundred in parts, or much more in the worst case scenario.

A good, honest garage will advise you on costs & whether its really worth fixing in their opinion (based on the age of the car etc). Now, you're going to ask what garages do people recommend. I'm not in your neck of the woods, but someone closer to your locality may know.

Personally, I wouldn't keep bringing the car to a mechanic, paying him to fix x part, then bringing it to another mechanic to fix y part. Find a decent garage that can do the work for you & do a proper job (the garage needs to be equipped with VIDA too, hence a Volvo specialist ideally). If you plan on tackling jobs yourself, then you need VIDA or know someone with it that could plug your car in for beer money/their time.

Don't keep spending money on replacing part after part, going to one mechanic & then to another. In my view, that's a pointless exercise.